2007 Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia

Located in the town of Bolgheri, in the Tuscany region of Italy, Tenuta San Guido produces three red wines. Sassicaia is their premier wine, followed by Guidalberto, and Le Difese. Each wine is produced using different varietal blends and aging processes. Tenuta San Guido was one of the pioneers of employing Bordeaux-like production techniques within Tuscany. Sassicaia is a classic representation of this non-traditional Italian style of winemaking.

The 2007 Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia was 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Cabernet Franc. The wine was aged in French oak barriques (1/3 new, 2/3 old) for 24 months, followed by an additional 12 months of aging in the bottle. ABV for the wine was labeled at 13.5%. The wine carried a DOC designation.

I had recently sampled the 2009 Tenuta San Guido Guidalberto with positive results, which you can read about here. I had first tasted the 2007 Sassicaia during 2011, before this blog had begun, but had no substantive notes on the event. While recently dining at Highlawn Pavillion in West Orange, NJ, I had the good fortune to find the ’07 on the wine list.

I recalled the 2007 being a good bottle, but this time around it was completely different.

To use a highly technical term, frequently employed by wine bloggers, this wine was wow!

Simply wow!

The wine was not decanted at the restaurant.

The color of the wine was a bright, black cherry red.

The aromas out of the glass were amazing. Very, strong cherry was the first note. The cherries intermingled with black fruit, vanilla, and light floral notes.

Taking a sip, I was stunned. The mouthfeel was luscious. Calm, mellow cherries, black fruit, a touch of pepper, and a hint of vanilla. Everything working together. The wine had a silky, buttery texture.

The finish was tremendous, nice and long. It had what I would describe as the mellowest tannins ever, again, that silky texture.

The wine was so well balanced, from start to finish. It was one of the best I have ever tasted.

My meal started with a salmon tasting, comprised of salmon tartare, gravlax, and compressed melon cubes. I followed that up with 48-hour braised boneless short ribs, sauteed mushrooms, a Mediterranean mix of olives and sundried tomatoes, and mashed potatoes. The wine and beef went together like a match made in heaven. Each one complimented the other perfectly,as did the rest of the dish.

The 2007 Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia was on the wine list at $170. That is right around what it sells for at a retail store (it’s actually below some retail outlets). To see it on a restaurant’s wine list at that price, almost knocked me off my chair.

This was a great bottle of wine. I hope that you can share it one day.